My family and I stayed in the Vila Preseren for 4 nights in June, 2015. After several weeks of moving every night from hotel to hotel, we were looking for a place to relax for a few days. In looking at places to stay in Lake Bled, I didn't find much on the lake and this appeared to be one of two 4-star resorts on the lake. Boy was I wrong.

In a nutshell, this is basically a restaurant masquerading as a hotel. I'm giving it 2 stars because it has two positive attributes. The location is very central (just below the steps to the castle and there is a swimming area nearby) and the staff in the restaurant provide decent service (by Slovenian standards). However, I do NOT recommend this hotel for several reasons:

• We booked 'lake view' and paid 200 Euros a night for a suite on the lake. Unfortunately, our view was completely blocked by the roof, air conditioning units and their awnings. We couldn't see the lake at all.
• The decor in the rooms can best be described as 'nouveau Transylvania'. Dirty old carpets, horrible dark wall paper, black cabinetry. Like walking into the set of the 'Night of the Living Dead'. Circa 1980. Time for a remodel.
• We arranged for 2 cots to be brought in for our kids. The best way to describe these would be prison beds. Useless mattresses with springs on top of wood slats. Our kids toughed it out for the first night on the floor. Only after threatening to leave the 2nd night did they come up with acceptable beds for the next 3 nights.
• The shower overflows into the bathroom. We learned that it takes a wall of towels (think dyke) at the entrance to the shower to keep the water from covering the entire bathroom.

4-star? I think not. And that's just the room. Now on to the neighborhood...

• At 7:45am every morning, the cathedral behind the Vila dings and dongs for no less than a minute. I actually like bells but at 7:45am every day this gets really old.
• The music in the restaurant filters up to the room from about 8am until 11pm every day and night. Gets annoying when you're trying to take a nap.
• There's no reception desk or even a concierge to help with questions. A corner of the restaurant serves both purposes. You have to flag a bus boy to get help. Again, a restaurant masquerading as a hotel.

Overall, a pretty rough stay and definitely not worth the money. We could have saved money and stayed off the lake at Pension Berc. Quiet spot, up on the hill with a dynamite restaurant. Or if you want to be on the lake and pay only a few bucks more, try the Grand Hotel. It's across the lake from the Vila, nice 4-star hotel with an indoor pool and outdoor swimming patio. More what we were looking for and where I will stay next time we are in Lake Bled.